On Sunday
by Otter Child
Summary: A surprise landing and a chance to renew old acquaintances becomes a battle to save the lives and freedom of the planet's peoples.
1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note: This story is designed as both a continuation of my own stories and a continuation of the book 'Wetworld', a BBC Doctor Who tome that is worth reading at least once. If you are looking for something to read, pick it up, but if you haven't read it, have no fear, you'll still understand the story. Enjoy**

**Otter**

1

"There we are," the Doctor said cheerfully, "Colorado, America, Earth, two-thousand and ten. Concert time!" With a flourish he pushed open one of the TARDIS doors, turning to face his daughter with a self-satisfied smile. Standing on the entrance ramp, Jenny stared out the door. Then she turned a resigned gaze on her father.

"You mixed the third and fourth-plane coordinates up again, Father."

"I did-" the Doctor began aggrievedly, turning on his heel to look out the door. "not…" he trailed off. He peered out the door. "Ah."

He stared out over the deep green stillness of the forest, eyes running over the pools of water that dotted the spongy ground. "This is…mm…familiar. Is it…wait, wait…oh!" he exclaimed, slapping a hand to his forehead. "Of course! Sunday! Planet Sunday! Oh-oh…" Turning on his heel, he dashed back to the console, flipping several switches. Outside there was a crunching sound as heavy clamps shot into the soil and crushed undergrowth, anchoring the ship in place. "There we go." the Doctor muttered, "Learned my lesson the first time." Turning, he strolled down the ramp and out the door. "Haven't been here in a while. Why would the TARDIS bring us here I wonder?"

"Want to get back in and try for Earth again?" Jenny asked.

"Nah." the Doctor replied, "Made a lot of friends here back in the day. Nice to catch up on them. Candice Kane! Jenny, run in and see what year it is for me."

"Twenty-one twenty-one!" she called.

"Lovely!" he exclaimed, "She'll be around twenty nine or so. Bet she's running half the colony by now! Oh and the otters! Cutest little dickens you'll ever hope to see. Faces like bears, and these high squeaky little voices, just adorable! Hope they've worked it all out between them. Bet they did, those folks were pretty bright, the humans I mean, though I'm not putting the otters down by any means. C'mon, let's go get reacquainted-or acquainted, present tense for you Jenny—what…where're you going?"

"Tank top." her voice called out of the ship, "An' my proper boots."

Soon they were tramping through the trees, pushing through the thick undergrowth, orange light shafting down through the canopy in thick beams that made the water glimmer in the streams they passed.

"Right this way I think." the Doctor said over his shoulder, "Yes, as I remember the colony city is just over a bit. Sunday City, lovely name for a place. Sunday City on the planet Sunday. Not exactly high creativity that, but it was already turning into a lovely little place when I left, and I bet by now it'll be absolutely spiffy. Healthy too, with any luck, if they took my advice and got rid of that filthy fusion unit they were using to generate power."

"When were you here last in your timeline?" Jenny asked, stepping over a low growing, frondy plant. The Doctor cocked his head, considering. "Six…think it was six years. Or seven? No, six. Sounds about right. Wonder if anybody will remember Martha right now. Be fun to tell her that we checked in on the folks we saved from Slimey and saw them doing just fine."

Jenny glanced at her father inquiringly. "Slimey?"

"Long story." the Doctor replied offhandedly, "You'll probably hear it later. Ah. And here we are!"

Jenny stepped around her father for a better look. In front of them was a circular group of buildings with high, domed roofs that looked, from this distance, like they were woven. "Nice."

"Yes, very nice. And this is-"

Jenny spun around at the sound. Pounding feet, metal against plasticine. Guns against armor chest plates.

"Halt! Halt! Stay where you are!"

Guns, a circle of weapons. Probably inadvisable to react aggressively. Jenny froze.

"And this is _not _the welcome I was hoping for." the Doctor declared.


	2. Chapter 2

2

"Keep moving."

_Why can't I hit them? There are only two of them now._

The Doctor's mental response was like a frown inside her head. _Jenny…_

_I won't. But why?_

_Because I want to figure out what's going on here. _

_Fine. But if they decide to lock us up, I'm going to hit them._

"In there. Sit down."

With a glare at the guard who had spoken, the Doctor opened the door. The Time Lords took the chairs in front of a large, black desk. They glanced at each other. The Doctor raised a brow.

_Well, this looks interesting._

Jenny sat back with a resigned look.

After a long moment, the door opened again. A man entered, flanked by two guards. He took a seat behind the desk, steepling his fingers.

"Well well." The man said, looking at each of them with slow, questioning eyes that stared out of hollow sockets. "Visitors. How very…unexpected."

"Oh. Don't get too many visitors out this way then?" the Doctor asked flippantly. "Well, I can see that, judging by the way you treat them. No wonder nobody comes here, if this is your hospitality."

The man looked from the Doctor to Jenny with the same analytical study. With his dark hair slicked back against his head, the hollows of his cheeks profound, his face gave the unsettling impression that a skull was staring back at them. "And you would be…"

The Doctor pulled his psychic paper out of a breast pocket. _Completely ordinary fellow_, he thought clearly as he handed it over, _nothing to arouse suspicion, but with just a little bit of authority. _Beside him, Jenny did the same, pulling her psychic paper from a pocket of her satchel.

The man in front of them took both the wallets in long, cadaverously thin fingers, studying them keenly. He took his time with their assumed documents, eyes squinting, trying to pick out some tiny impropriety. The Doctor gave his daughter a mental smile. They both knew he wouldn't find any.

Slowly, almost reluctantly, he handed back the two thin booklets. "And what brings you here, Mr. Smith? Miss Smith?"

"Visiting old friends, renewing acquaintances." the Doctor replied in a level tone. "And who are you, then?"

The man stared at him for a long moment, his gaunt face distantly pleasant-or trying to be, anyway.

"Lynch. Adjudicator Lynch. And if I may make a suggestion, it might be…prudent if you postponed your visit until a later date."

"Oh? And why's that then? Problems here on Sunday?" the Doctor asked quickly. Adjudicator Lynch blinked. "Why would you assume the presence of…problems, Mr. Smith?"

"Logical assumption, I suppose." the Doctor replied offhandedly, "Usually when there's a military group in power, something's gone wrong somewhere. Bit of a fight break out? Or another problem like the meteor you had a while back?"

"Oh no." the lean man replied in a would-be nonchalant voice, "Simply a few dissidents. Now, if you would like supplies for your trip…"

"Actually," the Doctor cut in, "we've had a pretty long trip getting here, and we could use a good night's rest, just for a night, and a decent meal. Think you folks could oblige?"

"Of course." Lynch said, drawing the words out, "I'm sure we can find you a place…for the night. If you'd follow my officers…"

Back in the hall, Jenny shot the Doctor a look.

_Something's going wrong here._

Her father glanced back darkly.

_Understatement if there ever was one._

…

The officers walked them through the town square without a word. One if the men turned, opened a door, and marched in. Not exactly polite, in the Doctor's opinion. Through the door, he could see a woman with wide Asiatic features tossing her hair back as she turned, glaring at the two men.

"What is it _now_?"

"Visitors in the colony." one guard snapped back, "Furnish them with rooms." Turning on his heel, he walked out, brushing past Jenny. She tensed imperceptibly, then unclenched her hands. The door closed. They were alone with the raven-haired woman.

"Well?" the woman demanded.

The Doctor opened his mouth-but was interrupted in his response by the patter of feet. Through a side door, a sleek black body flashed into view.

"We have visitors?"

The Doctor's brows rose in surprise as the slim otter stood on its hind legs, looking up at them.

"You're welcome under this roof." it said, though its lips never moved.

"Reka." The human beside her growled. The otter looked up. "They need a place to be, so they are welcome. As it should be, Mira. Regardless." The sound came, the Doctor realized, from the thin silver band around the otter's neck. The otter turned back to stare up at him. "Come, we have rooms. Follow me."

"Thanks." Jenny said, stepping inside as the little creature began to walk away.

Moving down the hall, the creature's paws pattered on the hardwood floor. "You are new adjudicator officers?" the small voice asked.

"Hell no." Jenny replied vehemently.

"Language, Jenny." the Doctor chastened, "But, no, we're definitely not adjudicators. I came to see Candice Kane, actually. I knew her a few years ago, and I came to renew acquaintances. She still around?"

The little ears perked up. "Kane is not in the colony right now. She is…" the otter paused for a moment, then turned and kept walking. "she is outside. What is your name?"

"Oh, folks call me the Doctor."

At the words, the little creature spun around. "You are the Doctor?"

"The one and only."

"The one who destroyed the Thing?"

"Yup." The Doctor replied confidently. The otter stood on its hind legs. "Oh, it is good! It is very good. I will tell her. She will know tomorrow."

Then she spun back, bouncing ahead as if there were springs in her paws. "Come, come. You will need rooms. You will need sleep for tomorrow. Much to do tomorrow!"

…..

Hours later, the Doctor was wandering down the hall. Jenny was getting her night's rest, but the Doctor knew he wouldn't manage even an hour as pent up as he was. He took the stairs down. The colony had come a long way since his last visit. Two-story houses even.

There had to be a kitchen about somewhere, and he intended to find it. He sauntered through the hall, peeking into rooms.

Turning a corner, he saw light pouring from a doorway. Inside, the clink of china and the pouring of liquid sounded in the quiet room. Mira looked up as he stepped inside.

"Reka tells me you're here to see Candice." she said quietly, setting down he mug.

"Thought I'd give her a check." the Doctor replied, "Haven't seen her in the longest while."

Mira gave a rueful smile. "Better not let it be know you're a friend of hers in colony." she set down her mug, glancing at the Doctor over her shoulder. "Sorry I gave you such a hard time. It's just the damn Adjudicators, got me on edge."

"I don't blame you." the Doctor said quietly. Stepping over to the table, he accepted the cup that Mira held out. "By the way, that voice synthesizer collar that Reka wears, that's very nice. Do all the otters-"

"Ekeen. They're ekeen."

"Ekeen, much better name! Do they all wear them?"

"'Course." Mira replied, sipping her tea, "It's what allows them to speak English. Can't pronounce it otherwise. And we can't pronounce their language, unfortunately."

"Well, at least you worked it out."

"Yeah." Mira said ruefully. "Not like the adjudicator listens, though. To anybody."

"And what exactly's the reason that the adjudicator's here?"

Mira glanced at him. "It's complicated. Land rights mostly."

"Land rights?" the Doctor said, raising an eyebrow. "That was enough to bring an adjudicator all the way out here?"

Mira shrugged. "Same old question. Whether the planet belongs to the people who settle it or the people who wrote their settlement contract. Same old story."

The Doctor sipped his tea. "Mm. And not a good story either. Is that what all the fighting is about?"

Mira's eyes shot open. "How do you know about that already?"

"Got it off the Adjudicator." the Doctor replied quietly. "He seems to be turning the place military, so I'd take it the fight's getting pretty serious. Care to tell me what's been happening?"

For a long moment, Mira stared at him with wary eyes. Then she looked down into her cup.

"It'll take some explaining." She sipped her tea for a long moment, then glanced at him, eyes dark in the lamplight. "Tomorrow. Ask me again tomorrow."

…

The adjudicator guards came through the door half way through breakfast. Reka was curled in an adjusted seat on the table, delicately biting into a fish that she held between her forepaws. Her head shot up before the Time Lords heard the sound of clomping boots in the hall.

"What do you want?" Mira snapped as they entered the kitchen. The men ignored her completely.

"If you'd come with us, we can get you ready for your departure."

"Yes," the Doctor said languidly, munching on a slice of toast, "when we've finished our breakfast maybe."

"Would you like to eat?" Reka asked. One of the guards turned, glaring down his nose at her. The other acted as if she hadn't spoken at all.

"As soon as possible, please."

The Doctor ignored them, though he seemed to have slowed down his chewing. Jenny glared up at the men, and resisted the urge to smack at least one of them.

Eventually, the Time Lords stood.

"Now I suppose we'll go," the Doctor said sardonically, "if we must." He glanced over his shoulder at Mira. "Give our friends my regards, hmm? Sure I'll see them soon." Then he strolled out of the kitchen, his daughter by his side.

"We'll escort you to your ship." said one of the men. The Doctor nodded. "Thanks very much."

He glanced down at his pale daughter as they walked, catching her eye. _Get ready._

_Got a plan?_

_Not just yet._

Even at the languid pace they were using, they were nearly across the plaza. Then, behind them, something exploded.

Smoke billowed out of three alleyways, surrounding them in a dark pall. Shapes darted through the mist. The Doctor put a hand on Jenny's shoulder, and led her away from the two guards.

A lithe streak leapt through the mist. An ekeen pressed its nose against the Doctor's legs, pushing him forward. He and Jenny were hurried through the smoke, peering ahead, eyes straining to pierce the mist.

The Doctor squinted. He thought he could see a human shape there for a minute.

Then the shape stepped forward. The woman pushed her dirty blonde bangs from her eyes, her long gun slung over her shoulder. She put a hand on her hip, and grinned, tossing her braid out of her way.

"Hello Doctor. Good to see you again."

The Doctor smiled. "You too, Candice Kane. Thanks for the help."

She laughed. "My pleasure."


	3. Chapter 3

3

The Doctor pushed through the high grasses they'd entered. "Candice, mind telling me what's going on?"

"Not now." the young woman called over her shoulder. "Wait until we get somewhere safe to talk."

She pushed beyond the grasses, into a stand of low woods. Behind, the grasses rustled, and a group of ekeen came bounding forward to trot beside Candice. "Is everyone all right?" the young woman asked, glancing down at the smaller creatures.

"We're well." one Ekeen said, "We were not seen."

"They shot some rounds. But they missed!" said another. Candice nodded, her lips quirking up. Pulling a small box from her belt, she spoke. "Terka Holt, Terka Holt. We're coming home." She glanced over her shoulder. "Watch your footing here, folks. Only step on the grassy spots."

They played hopscotch across a long, soggy expanse, and moved into another stretch of trees. Soon, one of the Ekeen pushed its nose into the ground, and a wide hatch in the earth sprang open. The furry little bodies disappeared down into the hole. Candice and the Time Lords followed them, Candice pulling the hatch down behind her.

The stairwell gave out into a cozy room, sandstone-colored sheetrock walls glowing warmly in the light. There were cries of welcome and chitters as ekeen rushed forward to greet those waiting for them, their sinuous bodies darting through the room as they rolled, rubbed noses and brushed up against each other. Candice dropped to her knees, smiling and greeting the individuals who came to do the same with her. A few of the creatures made a semicircle around the Doctor, welcoming him all at once in a panoply of synthesized voices and small squeaks.

"You have brought them!" one ekeen said, "It is good, it is very good! Welcome Doctor! Come! Come into the holt, welcome!"

The ekeen led the way in a rivulet of brown and black bodies, guiding their guests down the corridor or nudging at the backs of their legs. People stepped out of their way in the wide hall, then bustled on about their own chores. The Doctor glanced into rooms as they passed; a few rooms held beds, another was full of busy people and the smell of cooking. In another room weapons were being cleaned and set aside.

_They've got an entire community down here._

"Candice-" the Doctor sidestepped as a few small, golden brown ekeen darted between his feet. One of his entourage let out a loud bark that translated as an annoyed order, "Children! Do not run!" He turned and chased after them, leaving the group to go on.

Turning back, the Doctor started again. "Candice, why-"

"It was almost better the last time you were here, y'know." the young woman said, leading them down another sandstone-colored hall, "At least then it was an alien. Now it's the government. And they're harder to deal with."

"Why-"

"In here."

Overstuffed couches sat in a rough semicircle around a low table, interspersed with large pillows laid on the floor that a few lounging ekeen had already colonized.

"Sit, be at ease." said the ekeen who had spoken earlier, a dark individual with a grey smudge on one ear, "Food comes. It is very good that you are here!" He bounded away, chittering to himself.

"Wonderful." the Doctor said, dropping onto one of the couches and spreading his long legs. "Better than the greeting we got in the settlement, I can tell you. Nearly got the bum's rush off the planet there."

"That's the adjudication staff for you." Candice said, dropping onto a couch, "They want you off the planet because they don't want anyone knowing what they're about to do here. The adjudicator's office has authorized necessary force to be used in this colony. Pretty much, they can do whatever they like."

"Necessary force?" the Doctor asked in surprise, "They're not supposed to get that authorization unless law breaks down or the settlement breaks its charter. What exactly did you do here?"

Candice sighed, her round face grim. "We did, in the most technical sense, break our charter."

"Oh?" the Doctor inquired, "In what sort of technical sense?"

Candice took a mug offered her by one of the ekeen. "Technically, we're supposed to report all valuable ores found on planet. Well, we did. Except…"

"Except?"

Candice sighed again, brushing her bangs from her eyes. Her young face looked weary. "They say that we didn't report tellurium deposits."

The Doctor's brows shot up. "You found _tellurium_?" he whistled. "Pricey stuff, tellurium. Rarest metal on Earth. Worth a pretty penny."

"We reported the deposits on the northwest continent and those on the tip of the eastern continent. But not some of the others." Candice replied.

"And why would that be?"  
"Because we never intended to mine them." Candice took a breath. "On this planet the tellurium is found in a few large, shallow deposits near the surface. The biggest deposits are under the large lakes that take up a lot of the continent. And we didn't report those, since we didn't want them mined."

"Why's that?" Jenny asked.

"Because it would destroy the lakes." Candice said sharply. "And those lakes are hunting grounds, playgrounds, homes and breeding grounds for the ekeen, and a good source of food and power for us as well. The adjudicators don't understand how vital these lakes are to the culture we've built here. Destroying the lakes would wreck us. It's one thing if they were using sonic drill tech, but we've been told that it'd cost too much to ship the fancy, heavy drills. They want to-well, I should say they're going to drain the lakes and strip-mine them."

"Back up, " the Doctor said, holding up a hand, "when did this all happen? And why didn't you list the lakes as protected land?"

"We _did._ Or at least we thought we did." Candice sipped from her mug. "Five years ago, we filed our planet report as we're required to. The first wave and second wave of colonists had both done well, and the colony was proving viable. By that time we were working hard on the Worldshare program-that's the program we set up to learn how humans into ekeen society- and in our report we listed our cohabitation with another sentient species that reserved the land around the lakes as previously inhabited. But apparently that didn't wash, because two years ago a government-contracted mining group arrived on planet and demanded the right to start mining. Well, of course we appealed. Nine months ago the adjudicators arrived to investigate the claim of ekeen sentience. We gave them enough information to fill a freighter. And then the report came back about two months ago. The court won't admit ekeen sentience. So they say we lied on our report." She sighed, and sipped her drink. "We tried sending some delegates to the Earth Enquiry Department to prove our case, but it'll be at least a year before we get an answer. And it might not be a good answer even then. In the meantime, we try to keep things under control on this end while it's in probate. And it…hasn't been going well."

"So we saw." the Doctor said dryly.

"Since we broke charter, all our voting rights have been canceled. They're the law now, and they're doing what they like. But what they're doing is _illegal_. The mining firm don't have the right to start drilling until the final court decision, and the adjudicators shouldn't be letting them."

"And yet they go on." one small ekeen chirped, "already there are places we cannot swim. In some places fish die."

"The runoff is killing a lot of marine life." Candice said.

"Runoff?" the Doctor asked warily. Candice nodded. "They're using lightweight machines without filters or gathering tanks. The waste slag and excess chemicals just runs off into the water. It's the Terra-easy chemistry and they say it's harmless. But the chemical bases are different on this planet, and here it's doing damage."

" Cutting corners wherever they can, aren't they?" the Doctor murmured. "And that's going a bit beyond their own mandates and breaking a few laws of their own if I'm not mistaken. But of course they can get away with it this far out and away from Earth. So you've suddenly got a militia government with its thumb on you. And you've gone underground. Quite literally. You've been trying to stop what they've been doing, right?" Candice nodded, setting down her cup. She smiled wryly. "Welcome to the resistance, I guess." Then the young woman's smile faded. She looked at the Doctor for a long moment. "I know this isn't your problem. But the last time you were here you knew exactly what to do. And now that you're back… will you help us?"

The Doctor met her eyes. "I'll try." Then he took a deep breath. "We may need to have a word with these chaps. But for the moment, my ship's out there. I'm going to pop out and fetch it back here- don't worry, it's quite small-and then we'll start sorting it out."

…

It took them half an hour to reach the TARDIS. Stepping through the door, they moved quickly to the consol.

"So what're we going to do?" Jenny asked, taking up her place on the stabilizers.

"I don't know if we're going to do anything yet." the Doctor said, running his hands over the controls.

Jenny's brow wrinkled. "Why not?"

The ship settled. The Doctor turned away from the consol to face his daughter, his face remote. "Because I haven't had a chance to take a good look at the timelines. Some unpleasant things are supposed to happen, you know."

"You think this is a fixed event? I didn't see any signs."

"You weren't looking too hard."

"I was a little distracted." the girl said dryly. "Besides, I saw the signs pretty easy in Ireland, and in that world war."

"You did," the Doctor conceded, "though those events have everything but blinking warning lights on them. Some things aren't so obvious."

Jenny nodded, crossing her arms over her chest. "Show me what to do."

"Relax first. Let your mind go blank."

Jenny tried to comply.

"Let your eyes go out of focus a bit." her father advised, "It helps."

Jenny let her eyes relax, unfocused. The time lines came into sharper focus as other parts of reality lost definition; some forever steady and unchanging, others, like the lines of dust motes, full of many tiny possibilities as they floated one way or another. In front of her, her father's timelines glowed with intricacy, woven in complicated and intricate patterns.

"Okay, look at the lines."

"Which ones?" Jenny asked.

"All of them." the Doctor said, "Taken all together, all those timelines make up the planetary line."

"I think I see it…" Then Jenny blinked. "It loops back on itself…I think I'm just seeing the TARDIS timeline."

"Yes, but look beyond that."

Jenny shook her head, clearing her vision. "I didn't see anything else." She turned towards the door. "I'm going to go outside and try again."

The Doctor nodded.

Stepping outside, Jenny let her eyes relax again. Now she could see a complex pattern made up of everything around her, a winding braid of millions of strands, with millions more going off in millions of directions. But there were only a few large, very large strands woven of millions of individual futures. Moments, scents and sights and sounds poked out like snapshots as she strained to study them. Down one, there were earth-moving machines, mining crews, and an area of land stripped bare. Down another there was the smell of gun smoke and more earthmovers. And the next. But there were a few where there were no machines, and the water sparkled.

Jenny brought her attention back to the moment.

"There's a lot of different futures."

The Doctor nodded thoughtfully. "Mm-hmm."

"So this event's in flux. That means we can help, right?"

The Doctor met her eyes. "Yes. We'll help." He sighed, looking into the forest. "We'll try."


	4. Chapter 4

4

Jenny sat down between the sandy-haired boy who'd brought her into the dining hall and a small black-furred ekeen.

"Here, have some water-pigeon egg." the boy said, loading deep-brown egg onto the plate in front of her. "Thanks," Jenny said, "and thanks for bringing me to breakfast." She took a careful bite of the egg, then brightened. "Mmm. These are _great_!"

"Lots better than chicken eggs, hunh?" the boy said, "I had chicken eggs once. They're nasty. Water pigeon eggs are a lot better."

"So were you born here?" Jenny asked between bites. The boy shook his head. "Naw. My brother'n me got here when we were four. I'm Joh Richlieu."

"Jenny Smith."

"Nice to meet you."

There was a little chittering growl on her left. "If you are done showing off for the pretty girl, I will have some eggs, yes?" Joh frowned, and reached around to tug on the ekeen's tail. "Shut up, Eret, or you can eat paddlefish."

"Bite me." the otter-like creature replied casually. Reaching out with his hand-like paws, he took the bowl of egg and, lifting the spoon with a horizontal attachment on its end in his teeth, dumped egg into a bowl, then sank his muzzle into it. Joh sighed. "Ignore the big rat. He's a nuisance."

"Is that any way to speak about your eekata?" Jenny looked up at the deep, melodious voice. A woman dropped on to the bench on the other side of the table, brushing her black, silver-shot braid over her shoulder. She smiled at Jenny. "You must be the Doctor's little girl. Nice to meet you." She held her hand out over the table, "Ty Benson."

"Jenny." she said, shaking the woman's hand.  
"See you've found the food. If Joh leaves any of it."

"You want some, Doctor Benson?" the boy asked, shoving the egg bowl forward. Ty laughed. "I had breakfast, honey." She turned to the ekeen. "You working in the hatchery today, Eret?"

"I am," the little otter replied, "ekateen Joh and I."

"Will you be in with us, ma'am?" Joh asked. Ty nodded. "I'll be in the nursery for a little while. Then I'd better get into the infirmary."

"More babies are ill?" Eret asked quietly. Ty nodded, her face falling slightly. "Most of the young children. But, that's not your worry. You think the eggs may hatch today?"

"I do." Eret said, bobbing his head up and down on his sinuous neck.

"Eggs?" Jenny asked. Ty nodded. "The ekeen are monotremes; egg laying mammals. We have a hatchery down here next to the nursery, and there's a few kits on the way."

"You mind if I ask another question?" Jenny said, "What's ekateen mean? And eekata?"

Eret warbled and chattered, his collar translating. ""I am eekata. Joh is ekateen. Together we are of one ekamee."

"Ekamee?" Jenny asked. Across from her, Ty Benson nodded. "An ekamee's a holt with human and ekeen members. An extended family group and community. It's how we divide work and living space around here, based on the already established holts. Each of us belongs to an ekamee. Like he says, Joh is ekateen, a human of the tribe."

"Yeah. A full fledged member of Terka Holt. See?" Joh said, turning over his hand to show his palm, tattooed with a black paw print. Eret turned over his paw, showing the white tattoo of a human hand.

"Joh's grandparents and Eret's parents were some of the leaders of the Worldshare program." Ty said, "They worked on the speech synthesizers." Joh nodded, looking proud. "By the way," Ty said, "where's your dad?"

Jenny forked up another mouthful of egg. "Mm…he's trying to sort things out. It could be a while."

…

The Doctor walked between two guards to down the hall. He'd expected to be grabbed the minute he showed his face, and the adjudicators hadn't disappointed. Lucky for him that they weren't wasting his time by taking him to any sort of cell; instead he was frogmarched back into Adjudicator Lynch's office.

"Sit."

The Doctor rolled his eyes as the office door closed. These fellows really did have very limited repertoire.

He sat tapping his foot for some time before the Adjudicator opened the door, flanked by his guards. "Well well. Mr. Smith. How very…unexpected." The man took his seat behind the desk, and steepled his fingers, staring at the Doctor. The Time Lord met his eyes. "Hello again to you too. By the way, the title's actually not Mister, it's Inspector."

"Oh?" the thin man raised a brow. The Doctor smiled mirthlessly. "Fraid I've led you on a bit, Lynch. Take a look." Reaching slowly into his pocket, he pulled out his psychic paper, handing it over. The man took the paper in his skeletal fingers, studying it carefully before handing it back.

"I see. And you are here in order to…"

"I was told to arrive on-planet incognito and investigate the situation." The Doctor concocted blithely, "Investigate claims that citizen rights were being violated by acting as one of them. That sort of thing. And from the treatment I've gotten I'm none too pleased, I can tell you. I'm going to have to investigate this situation a lot deeper. Quite a lot deeper, I can tell you. Lot of human rights issues I'm seeing here. I want to see all your paperwork, reports on arrests and also on your environmental work here. Actually, scratch that. I'll just take a look at all the paperwork and build my report from it. Or I could just send it all home to the Internal Affairs Investigation Beauru for a proper check up. Which would you like better?"

For a moment, the cadaverous man locked eyes with the Time Lord. Tension crackled between them like electricity. Then Lynch spread his arms wide, a slight smile creasing his thin lips. "We have nothing to hide from our affiliates at the Beauru. Please, investigate what you will. All passwords will be supplied for you."

"Thanks." The Doctor said. "I'd like to get started as soon as possible. Now, for instance."

…

Jenny grinned at the ekeen kit, who squealed happily and made a grab for her hair with its tiny retractable claws. Beside her, Ty reached out and grabbed the baby's paw. "No claws, Sesta." She smiled at Jenny. "Watch out with the little guys. They don't know that their claws are sharp." Jenny nodded. "Is she saying anything?" The ekeen nurse shook her head. "Baby talk."

"They're so cute." Jenny cooed, reaching down to pet one of the babies where it lay in a large playpen with its brothers and sisters. The little ekeen murmured and purred, and more babies waddled over to receiver their share of the attention.

Ty smiled, her lined face softening. "These just hatched a few months ago." Jenny drew her hand back as one of the little ekeen started to try chewing on her finger. Ty lauged. "Yeah, they're teething too." With a last pat for a few furry heads, Ty turned away. " I've got to get to the infirmary now. Just beyond that is one of the common rooms where you can relax." Jenny followed the older woman down the hall. Ty stopped outside of a small, glass fronted room that Jenny recognized as a medical bay. There were a few beds in the room, but Jenny was surprised at the number of bassinets crammed inside, almost filling the room. In each one was a small child or a baby. Most of them were listless. None of them responded to the people hovering over the cribs.

"Why have you got so many sick kids?" Jenny asked, staring into the room. Ty sighed. "Wish I knew." She slipped on a mask and a pair of gloves, then opened the door."I'll see you later, then." she said, her voice muffled by the mask. The door closed.

Jenny watched through the window as Ty spoke with the people in the room. Those must be parents. Then she turned away. She'd have to tell her father about this.

The common room was a comfortable looking room furnished with more pillows and overstuffed couches. It looked like it would be a nice place to sit and relax normally. But at the moment, the room was taken up with argument.

"No! Is too dangerous!" the ekeen with a grey smudge on his ear Jenny had met earlier exclaimed. The fur along his spine was standing on end.

"Well what do you want us to do then, Keets? Sit back and let it happen?" replied the dark-haired man who faced him. The ekeen shook his head vehemently "We cannot risk it again! There will be guards!"

"Then we deal with them!"

"No! No killing. We kill them, they kill us. It is wrong."

"Keets, you can't just-" the man paused, catching sight of Jenny. She stepped into the room. "What sort of tactical measures are you working on?"

The dark-haired man shrugged. "It's something we're working on. Something privet. So-"

"She is the kit of the Doctor, Okade." The ekeen called Keets said sharply.

"I've got military training too," Jenny said, stretching the truth a bit, " that was why I asked . I thought I might be able to lend you guys a hand."

"Perhaps." Keets said. Jumping up on the back of the couch, he rose on his hind legs so he could look Jenny in the eye.

"We try to keep them from doing their work. We break machines. We put holes in fuel tanks. Then they make repairs. We cannot do the same again; they will be guarding."

Jenny nodded thoughtfully."So you need something that you can do that'll effect them but keep you out of the way." she said musingly. Then she looked up, and grinned. "I think I've got something that'll do."


	5. Chapter 5

5

"Set these to a hundred fifty decibels and 15 hertz, will you?" Jenny said, pulling a few long stakes out of her hand. Keets took one in his paws. "What is this?"

"It's a pulse stick; lets out an ultrasonic blast that humans can't hear, but they sure as hell feel it. At this setting anyone in range is going to get inner-cranial and inner-ear disturbance. Blurred vision, headaches, disorientation, loss of balance and some nasty nausea. Nobody's going to be able to work through that. I've got about eighteen, which should cover the work area."

"One work area." Okade said. Jenny nodded.

"I will get the others." Keets said, bounding away.

"Are you sure we shouldn't check with the council first?" said a tall, gawky man a few minutes later. Candice shook her head. "The Council gave us permission to do what we can to sabotage the lake draining, Orlo." She turned back to Jenny. "So what do we do?"

Hours later, the brief blood-red twilight had passed. Jenny followed the otters ahead of her, one hand reaching behind her to steady the bundle of pulse-sticks on her back. She had borrowed a dark cloth cap to cover her bright hair, and coated her pale skin with a greenish paint to diminish her visibility, blending her into the darkness. Behind her, she could hear the patter of more otters. There were ten of them in her party, along with Candice and two other young men.

Jenny peered ahead into the reddish gloom. Something started in the trees overhead. Jenny stiffened as the thing flapped away like a living parachute.

"Curver." Candice murmured beside her. Jenny nodded, and pushed ahead.

Soon they reached the northern edge of one of the lakes. Jenny could see the gigantic drilling rig in the gloom; smaller and lighter than most machines of its type, it was still ten feet tall. With it, the mining firm was drilling a wide tunnel beneath the lake, which would then be breached to open the lake bed. Jenny nodded to herself. Reaching behind her, she pulled out one pulse stick, sinking it deep into the ground. She heaped leaf litter around it, masking it indistinguishably. The young Time Lord smiled in the darkness.

_Let's see how they like that._

…

The Doctor dropped another set of files down on the desk, and lifted the next. The staff had tried the old trick of burying him up in paperwork, and he was just about up to his hairline in it. But then, of course, they didn't reckon on his reading speed. He smiled grimly to himself, and lifted the next file, riffling it as his eyes scanned each flashing page. He dropped it with a sigh, and lifted another, flickering through the pages disinterestedly. Most of this was pretty useless. But he knew there was something to find here. Even before it officially became an empire, the Republic of Earth was far flung and gigantically bureaucratic. There was no way a land claim would have been revoked so quickly, and no way the contractors would've been allowed to begin work so fast. Somewhere something was bullocksed up. He shook his head at his own train of thought. He was getting far too much slang in his vocabulary these days.

His eyes caught on a page. "Hello…" he paused, flipping back a few pages. His eyes half-closed as calculations ran behind them. Then he lifted his eyes, slipping off his glasses.

"Gotcha."

Standing, he strode down the hall. The lights had come on, intensifying the darkness of the night outside. He reached Lynch's door. There were voices inside. He knocked, and the voices stilled.

"Come in."

The Doctor pushed open the door. "Hello Lynch…oh, hello." he nodded to the squinting, stocky man who stood beside Lynch. The adjudicator gave his thin-stretched smile.

"Ah. Inspector Smith. Can I…help you?"

"Yes, just wanted to ask a question or two. You boys certainly are up late."

The adjudicator didn't blink. "We have much business to discuss. This is George Redstar, the head of our contracting firm." The stocky man bobbed his head in the Doctor's direction.

"Nice to meet you." the Doctor said briskly, "Now, Lynch, I've been looking over your paperwork, found a few things I'd like to ask you about. According to your files of the tellurium amounts you've been extracting, you're really misplacing your fuel rather quickly."

"In what way?" the adjudicator asked carefully.

"Well, judging by the amount of ore you're putting on the ship home, your drills and your ground vehicles are using three times as much fuel as they need to. You're running, what, five drills on five lakes? And you're only pulling in half of what I'd think those drills should be bringing in. Actually, less than half really. Now why would that be?"

The adjudicator smiled another chilly smile. "My dear Inspector, you must factor in the planet's gravity and climate."

"Really?" the Doctor said dryly, "I'd expect, the gravity being lower here, you'd be using a lot less fuel."

"Ah," the bony man said, "but the heavy lake mud and water is a difficult working environment. The machines mist work excessively to overcome it. And, unfortunate though it is, some fuel has been…appropriated by the locals." He stared at the Doctor, his smile fixed.

"Right." The Doctor said, "Well, thanks for clearing that up. See if you can work on that efficacy, will you? Waste not want not and all that."

The adjudicator nodded deeply. "Of course, Inspector."

"Right," the Doctor exclaimed brightly, "cheerio then!" Turning, he swept from the room. Behind him, he could hear voices whispering again.

The Doctor walked down the hall, frowning. He knew when he was being lied to.

….

"There are five mining sites on Sunday," the white-haired woman said, handing Jenny a mug, "one here on the Memorial Lake that connects to the river, one on Peela lake, and one each on Teem, Preetsa and Ereem lakes."

Jenny nodded. The morning was turning to afternoon, and the people of Terka Holt, after checking in on what was happening on the work-site, were jubilant. Not a single man could stand the work site for more than a few minutes, according to reports. The young Time Lord watched an older woman, the leader of the Sunday council, as she spoke. The little woman glanced at Jenny. She still seemed annoyed telling Jenny all this, but after what her work on the first site had done, she'd been invited as an advisor.

"Each mining site has a drill and a number of men, and each one is going to be drained and mined." Jenny nodded. "So you need to stop all five drills."

"I'd think that was obvious." Another member of the circle said. Jenny nodded slightly. "Of course. So the objective's to stop the drilling, with minimum damages. Okay. You can't hit the drills all at once without incurring loss of life, and I'm guessing you don't want to do that. So, best thing you can do is hit one at a time. Quickly too, before they can catch on. So…" she stared off into space, letting the variables of the situation run through her mind. "Okay. If you agree, I've got a plan that should be efficacious. But first I'm going to need the brand and make of these drills. And how flexible is your species?" she asked, turning to one of the ekeen. The ekeen chortled low in her throat. Jumping onto the table, she wormed her way between a number of glasses on the table without touching one, then bent backwards until her head was resting on the base of her tail and her back legs were bent behind her, touching her nose. Jenny grinned. "Kickass."

Hours later, Jenny crouched in the darkness. It hadn't taken more than a few minutes to dig up the schematics of the drill type the contractors were using. There was the gleam of eyes around her, and the rustle of fur against fur. Everyone knew the schematics and knew what to do.

Jenny stared at the point of light gleaming in the darkness. There were two guards keeping watch over the site. She smiled. Two bored men that'd be half-asleep by now.

Quickly, she moved around the side of the small shack. The windows were too narrow to afford an entrance. The door, then. Judging its strength, she lashed out with her foot.

The two guards looked up, shocked. Jenny grinned. "'Ello, boys." She made a step. The guard's heads made a resounding crack as she slammed them together. Efficient. Nice and neat. Stepping out the door, she waved a hand.

Five ekeen rushed forward, one standing up on its hind legs. "Now?" Jenny nodded.

The ekeen jumped onto the drill casing, then wriggled inside it. Jenny smiled. They knew all the right wires to cut, and their claws were well up to the job.

…

The Doctor had restrained himself from entering the office any earlier than he already had. If they got to noticing that he didn't sleep people might get a little leery, though not suspicious of anything in particular.

There was still something in the contractor's and adjudicator's files that wasn't right, and he was going to track it down today. He'd been getting very close. He knew what was happening here, at least most of it. Now to find some definite proof. And not die of boredom in the process, of course. He sighed. Paperwork. He hated paperwork.

There was a yelp out in the hall. The Doctor looked up, sliding his glasses off.

_What was that all about?_

Setting down the papers, he poked his head out of the office door. The voices raised again. Lynch's office. The Doctor moved to it, and, very carefully, placed his ear against it.

"Will you keep your voice _down_?" That was Lynch's voice, a vicious hiss.

"But bloody hell," Redstar's voice complained, "that's two down! Two of 'em! Men can't get near the one, and the other, well, looks like somebody cut it all to hell in the upper wiring box. It'll take a month to fix! And all you give me is two guards a site?"

"Sabotage is to be expected, and it can be repaired." Lynched hissed in reply, "We'll double the guards. And you're making a scene, man!"

"But we don't have time for this! If anyone finds-"

"If anyone else tries to accost the sites, they'll be shot on sight. And you will calm down! You hear me Redstar? Control yourself and keep your mouth _shut_!"

The Doctor had heard enough. Turning, he strode away. By the time the contractor came out of the door, he was sitting back in the office, grimly bent on his search.


	6. Chapter 6

6

_Jenny,_

_You doing a number on drills? Nice work. Getting close to solution on my end. Keep you posted._

Jenny snapped her psychic paper closed with a smile.

"What's so funny?" Candice asked, walking up behind her. "Just the kits." Jenny lied easily, "Are they supposed to eat the bark like that?" She pointed out a young ekeen who was chewing away at a long strip of grayish bark. "Oh yes," Candice said, "the ekeen are one of the few species that can digest cellulose. Those big teeth are designed for stripping bark. They're pretty omnivorous but their dietary staple is bark and foliage." She handed Jenny a plate. "Some lunch. By the way, the drill's dead. How did you know what to do?" Jenny shrugged. "My dad had some schematics. Thanks." She dug into the sandwich. Some sort of fish. Not bad.

"They'll put more guards out."

"Oh, I know." Jenny said, "But don't worry. I can handle them." Candice nodded carefully.

"You have done great things." Jenny glanced over her shoulder. A slender dark-furred ekeen, her ears mottled in grey spots, stood on her hind legs to face the Time Lord, the expression on her furred face bordering on worshipful. The little female looked like she was trying to stand as tall as she possibly could. "I wish to go with the next party."

Jenny was about to agree, when there was a growl. Jenny looked up. Keets was walking into the room.

"You don't go, Sreet."

"I go, pa." the smaller creature chattered back. Keets shook his head vigorously. "You are a kit. You do not go."

"I am no kit!" the younger ekeen said, the hair along her shoulder blades standing on end. Keets turned away from the youngster, and stared at Jenny.

"She is my kit. She does not go."

Reluctantly, Jenny nodded. She spoke in an effort to break the tension; "We've figured out that we only need about five in a raiding party anyway, plus two humans. Me and somebody else pretty good at hand-to-hand combat."

"You'll be getting help from Teem Holt folks tonight." Candice said, "They'll be your guides. Teem Lake is about six miles away."

"Great. Where do I meet them?"

"They're here already. Upper Teem Lake has already been breeched, and the holt from that area is camping with us until they can find new nesting-grounds of their own. In fact, most of the party tonight will be Teem refugees." Candice smiled. "Might be nice for them to get their own back a bit."

There were six guards this time. And they weren't kidding. Lights ringed the perimeter of the dig site, a great hole of churned-up mud and earth moving machines with the drill squatting in the middle like a toad. The men were spaced at regular intervals, alert and with their guns to hand. Jenny surveyed the situation. Some tactical maneuvering would be necessary, but this was going to be easy.

Pulling a thin tube from the small pouch at her side, she pointed it, and hit the button. The little sonic emitter whined in her hand, and she adjusted the setting carefully. In a shower of sparks, every light on the mine site went out.

There was shouting, and a few shots fired. Jenny raced forward. Landing a flying kick into the first man, she punched two senseless, then barreled into a fourth, landing a good uppercut to his chin. The next two were dealt with in no time.

Putting two fingers to her lips, Jenny whistled loudly. Out of the darkness came the ekeen, and Candice."How in the name of Lord Koslo did you do that?" Jenny shrugged in the darkness. She turned, and loped down the bank. "Let's do the drill first," she called to the ekeen, "then we'll see what we can do about these other machines, okay?"

…..

"Our most productive deposit! Another drill, three backhoes, a trawler, a gouger by hell!"

"The what?"

"The gouger! The only gouger we've got!"

The Doctor smiled in the privacy of the little office. The contractor sounded as if he would have a nervous fit if this kept up. And knowing his daughter, it would. Jenny was certainly doing her bit.

And now it was time he did his. Properly, no more pussyfooting and playing about with papers.

They'd provided him with a computer chock full of more files, but he was none too sure that he trusted what they gave him. A little sweet-talk on the machine, and he was into the full area database with all information for the past ten years. He spent most of the day sorting it out. There was the information, over and over; the citizen's report, the request by Earth for proof of sentience, the mining contract and the adjudicator's investigation. But there was something wrong in all of it, and for the life of him the Doctor couldn't seem to get any of the pieces to fit together.

It was afternoon, and the office was quiet. Most people seemed to take the afternoons off around here. The Doctor sighed, ruffling his hair. Candice had been right. It had been much easier fighting a great slimy alien than dealing with the officials.

The Doctor glared at the computer. Then, on a whim, he ran the sonic screwdriver over the hard drive on the back of the monitor, set to a frequency that usually unlocked passwords and files on tellurium tetra-silicate based technology. He had to be careful with this setting though; he'd accidently melted a few computers finding just the right bandwidth. He glanced back at the screen. The Doctor's eyebrows shot up. There were five new files onscreen.

The Doctor opened the first one, rifling through it. Statements of ore delivery and payments made. At extravagant prices. No matter how badly the Earth government wanted tellurium, they'd never pay such a high price for the ores."Black market." the Doctor murmured to himself. Why hadn't he done this before? The next file was the same for last year. But it was the third and fourth file that made the Doctor's hand clench.

Quickly, he printed them out, and marched down the corridor. He didn't bother knocking when he reached Lynch's door.

The Adjudicator was sitting at his desk, writing. He looked up, and caught the Doctor's eye. The expression froze on his bony face.

The Doctor closed the door behind him. "I know what you've been doing here, Lynch."

The living cadaver smiled. "Inspector, could you-"

"What's the penalty for defrauding the government, Lynch? Ten years? Fifteen? Well, drop contempt of court, illegal sale of government property, civil abuse and civil-rights violation on top of it, as well as Adjudication illicit activity, and I bet we can get it up to an even twenty, don't you?"

"And why," Lynch said ccarefully, "would you believe that-" the Doctor dropped the files on his desk.

"Read them. That's why."

Lynch leafed through the papers. His eyes widened almost imperceptibly in their sockets.

"Oh my. It seems that L and M contracting has gone quite beyond."

"Oh no. You don't get out by laying the blame on somebody else, Lynch. It's not that easy. See, I also found the reports you sent," the Doctor said fiercely, planting both hands on the desk and leaning close to the human, "your statements on ongoing investigation. Your falsified claims about where the mining is being done. And of course your report that everything's just fine on good old Sunday. And I put the pieces together. You really worked yourself a cushy spot here, didn't you? Let the contracting company mine every deposit of tellurium they can find, but send home only what you've reported. Sell the rest on the black market and split the profits between yourself and the contractors. You act as the muscle, prevent the citizens from resisting while you trample on them and rape their land, and for that you get a nice fat bankbook. Earth thinks you're still investigating, the people here think you've got Earth's ok, and nobody's the wiser. Except, there's me."

"Yes," said the man flatly, "there's you."

"Now there's two ways this can go. Either you report to Earth and tell them that you've proved the Ekeen sentience and right to land, then you get the hell out of here. Or I report you to your superiors and make very, very sure that you get the maximum punishment possible for your crimes. Which is it going to be, Lynch?"

For a long moment, the man stared at him.

"There is a third option, you know."

"I don't think so."

"I do." Then the Adjudicator raised a small gun, and fired. The dart sank into the Doctor's chest, and he felt the area go numb, He stumbled. He pulled the dart out, though little good it would do him. The poison was already in his system. And it was fast acting. He could feel it burning through his system like ice, numbing. His knees gave way, and he fell to the ground.

"Paralytic agent," Lynch said airily, "I've always preferred it. You'll feel every last moment, even as your lungs shut down. Conscious, but totally immobilized. Enjoy.

The Doctor heard the sound of a com being punched.

"Redstar, could you come here, please?"

The door opened. A shadow fell over him.

"Bloody hell!"

"I'd like your help in disposing of this body."

"But…Lynch, we…he's an Inspector!"

"He had no time to send his report, never fear."

"But…no. I don't want anything to do with murder."

"You will help me, Redstar, or I will report you to the authorities. Is that clear?"

There was a long moment of silence. The Doctor could feel his chest tightening as the creeping ice attacked his muscles.

"Good. I'm glad you agree. By the way, my dear Redstar, I believe our operations will need to be increased in pace. We don't want any more interruptions before we've finished."

"But what about the sabotage?"

"I believe that, if we destroy the…nests on the lake shore before commencing activities, there will be no problems. Let's begin with the westernmost lake. Arm your men and give them instructions to shoot on site. Now, let us dispose of…this."

He was lifted. The corridor seemed long.

They were outside. Bluish-red sky.

He had to concentrate. Lock off systems already affected, get the enzymes that would break down this toxin to work. Basic enzyme combination. Two seconds. No response. No good. It was getting hard to breathe.

A paralytic. He knew how to deal with that. He needed to produce the right chemical cocktail in his blood,that was all.

They were going downhill

He needed to…

Then there was a splash. Wet.

The water closed over his head.


	7. Chapter 7

7

Blackness. Water.

Light.

The Doctor broke the surface. He gasped for air, great whooping lungfuls. Every muscle in his body was in spasming agony. He dragged himself to the bank and lay, chest heaving. It had taken his body nearly the entire ten minutes of air that his respiratory bypass system could provide him to produce the necessary chemicals and immobilize the toxin. He panted for air, his lungs burning.

Finally, his breathing slowed. He sat up, and had to bite back a yelp of pain. Though his muscles worked once more, they ached abominably.

But he had to get moving. He had to warn them. Before…

He stumbled to his feet with a moan. Had to warn them. Had to…

…

A flash of agony ran through Jenny's head like a hot knife. She'd been worried about Father today, and not really sure why. But something must have been wrong. Something was wrong, and he was hurting.

Jumping from her seat, she sprinted down the corridor. Somebody was shouting something.

"Get him in here! Quick!"

Around the bend, three people were supporting the Doctor between them. He was soaking wet, his hair plastered to his head. Muddy water dripped from him. He looked semi-conscious.

"What the hell happened?" Jenny demanded, pushing aside another man to put her shoulder under her father's arm. His skin was hot, too hot for her liking.

"I don't know!" the gawky man called Orlo said, "We found him jus' lyin' there by the entry, looking like this."

"We need to get him set down. The medical area's too far. Bring him in here."

They laid him out on one of the dining tables. Jenny checked his heart rates. Too low. She pressed a hand against her father's forehead. Be damned to trying to look normal.

_Father?_

_Oh, do you have to shout? My head aches enough as it is._

Jenny let out a little sigh. _What have you done to yourself now?_

_Give me a minute to get my body in working order and I'll tell you._

"He's alright." Jenny said aloud, "He'll wake up in a minute."

Orlo nodded, looking confused. Jenny hadn't registered that there was a crowd around her, but people were staring over her shoulder.

Her attention snapped back as her father's eyes opened. He winced.

"You could've found me a bed."

"I was more worried about you being alive than comfortable." The Doctor glared at her, then tried to sit up. A little sound of pain escaped his gritted teeth. Jenny put an arm around him, helping him sit up."What got you?"

"Fast acting paralytic agent, courtesy of Lynch." The Doctor panted. "Found out what he was doing. He tried to kill me. They're going to destroy the holts on the western-most lake, and they're shooting on sight. Today. You've got…" he swallowed harshly, "You've got to get there. Warn them. I'll…be along as soon as I can."

Jenny nodded. She stood. "There's going to be an attack on the westernmost lake. We need to warn the holt there. Which one is it?"

"Ereem Lake." Orlo said, "And there's three holts."

Jenny nodded. "Then I'll need three people. We've got to warn them and get them evacuated today."

"I will travel by river." Keets said, and another ekeen joined him.

"Then we'll take Jema holt." A dark-skinned man said. "I'm Jorl. I know the area."

"Right." Jenny said, "We need to move, and fast. Let's go."

…..

Jenny ducked as another transport went rumbling past. Jorl crouched beside her, his breathing harsh in her ears. They'd already warned Jema Holt, and given the members instructions to stay under cover as much as possible as they left. Now they were going to meet up with the other two at Retya Holt.

"Close call." Jorl murmured. Jenny nodded. They began to move.

It wasn't easy keeping cover in an area as open as Sunday's Slim Forest, with its widely spaced trees, but they were doing alright. They were nearly there when Jenny's ears picked up a sound. Gunfire. She took off running. Jenny reached behind her as she ran, opening a pocket and feeling for what she needed. Her fingers closed on her favorite weapon. She tugged the long spear free, pointing its head ahead of her. It shone, energy crackling along its point. Charged and ready.

….

"I'm fine." The Doctor said, "And I need to get out there."

"You're not fine." The wiry-haired nurse snapped back, "In fact if you were anybody else you'd probably be dead." She held his arm, preventing him from going up the stairwell out of the holt. The Doctor grimaced "Trust me, I'm a doctor and I can say for myself when-" He turned as the holt door opened, just in time to catch a girl who came stumbling down the stairs. She was shivering and sobbing hysterically."They're killing people!" she screeched, her face covered with blood and stained with grime, "They killed everybody!"

The nurse rushed to the panicking girl. She barely noticed the Doctor as he raced up the stairs.

….

The battle was nearly over when Jenny arrived. There were only two mercenaries firing on a knot of people. Jenny cut them down.

There were bodies everywhere. Ahead of her, where there had once been a holt, a great, sunken hole still smoked. They must have blasted it with explosives.

She was too late.

Jenny walked among the dead. Nearly the entire population of the holt. Here and there were children, even a few babies. Everyone. Dead.

Her eye was caught for a moment, and her numbed brain finally kicked in. Smudged ear. Keets.

She knelt beside the sad little bundle of fur that had, not long ago, been a brave leader.

"Halt! Stay where you are!"

Jenny looked up from the furry body, her eyes burning with pain and hate. She lunged forward. A moment later the man was down, her spear tip at his throat.

"You killed him. You killed them. In cold blood." she ground out, staring down at the man. He wriggled, his mouth open as if to say something. She slammed a foot down on his chest."They were noncombatants!" she shouted into his face. Then she drew herself up. "Under your own laws, the penalty for killing noncombatants is death."

She didn't blink as feet came crashing through the underbrush.

"Jenny!"

Jenny barely moved as her father came running up. She could hear his breathing where he stood, a foot away from her. "Jenny, don't do it."

"He killed Keets. He killed unarmed civilians. He deserves it."

"And how does that make anything right?"

"It's justice." she snapped out, staring down at the murderer. Footsteps crackled on the grass.

"No it isn't." her father's quiet voice rang through the clearing. "Not like this. It feels like killing this man will let the pain out and avenge them. But that kind of killing gets into your head and your hearts and never lets go. It infects you. It changes who you are. You're a soldier, Jenny. A soldier doesn't kill prisoners in cold blood."

Jenny glared down into the eyes of the man at her mercy, her breathing harsh in her ears, her hands trembling on the haft of her spear.

Slowly, her weapon lowered. She kicked the man, then turned and walked away, her eyes burning with tears that she wouldn't shed.

"Jenny."

She turned on her father, throwing a punch, and was caught and enveloped in his tight arms and his trench coat.

"You did the right thing." he murmured into her hair. For a moment, she struggled against his hold, but he didn't let her go. He held her tight, even as she began to cry.

…

The crowd around the council table was silent.

"What do you want to do?" Candice asked quietly. She'd gone beyond shock. At the head of the table, Council President Dory Chan shook her head. "We'll have to fight them. It's the only way."

"The people in Sunday are ready to raise up a millita for colonial defense." Another councilor said. There were murmurs of agreement.

"No." All eyes turned on the Doctor. He shook his head, coming out of his reverie. "No. A fight is just a stop-gap method. And a pretty poor one at that. You can't win a decisive battle against them, they've got too much power. And you can't call for aid, being a human colony under Earth jurisdiction. It'll take too long to sort it out in the courts and the damage will have been done. So, we'll do this another way."

"What way?" Chan asked carefully.

"This way." the Doctor said, turning on his heel. "Come on. Keep up. I need three ekeen at least, and whoever else wants to come."

And he strode from the room. For a moment, the Councilors stared at one another. Then, almost as one creature, they followed.


	8. Chapter 8

8

"Welcome," the Doctor declared, "to the great council chambers of the Shadow Proclamation. Two hundred and ninety-eight principal planetary members, thirty nine thousand seven hundred sixty one affiliated planets, two million three hundred thousand sixty seven member species, and more every day."

"And we are here for help?" Teem asked, trotting out of the TARDIS.

"Nope. We're here," the Doctor said as he walked, "to sign the ekeen up as a member species. Entitled to all the rights of protection under the Proclamation decrees."

"Can we do that?" Candice asked dubiously.

"Oh, anybody can do it." The Doctor replied in one of his more patronizing tones, "Any species who can get three representatives here is eligible to be a member."

"Teem," someone scolded in the back of the crowd, "You shouldn't be here!"

"My father is dead." Teem growled, "I will stand here. I will stand for him."

"Teem, you're barely three years old. Now I want you back on that… ship until…"

The Doctor pushed through the crowd. The little ekeen glared up at him.

"If my father were here he would serve. I am his kit. I will serve in his place."

The Doctor nodded. "Considering what your father did, I think you've got as much right as anyone. You'll do him proud." Then he drew a breath. "But there is one pretty difficult bit of the process, so brace yourselves."

"What?" Teem asked. The Doctor grimaced. "Paperwork."

There were two days of paperwork and filings. The ekeen were run through a battery of intelligence tests. Then they stood in front of the two hundred representatives of the Council on their meeting date.

"I am Teem if the Ekeen of Sunday. And I wish to join this body." Teem said when her turn came.

There was a momentary pause as the delegates made their votes. "Granted" the Voice of the Shadow said. Teem chirped in happiness.

Soon, a mamalti case worker came over, her white hair up in a bun. "Representative Teem, it seems that your planet has a non-native colonial attempt on it. Would you like it removed?"

"No." Teem said, "We share with ekateen. But we want Sunday ruled by itself. Not by Earth laws. Not from far away. No digging, no mining people who don't listen to what ekeen say. We want men in black suits gone. They do wrong. Want them gone now."

"Very well." The woman said, her ruby eyes on her reading pad, "I'll send the message off to the Earth Jurisdiction right away. And we see that your paperwork documents some irregular behavior on the part of this group. We will see to their punishment. Henceforth anyone violating the sovereignty of your planet will be subject to the justice of the Shadow Proclamation. Good day."

A ship full of Jdoon was sent along to help corral the adjudicators and contractors. Two hours after they arrived, nearly every renegade was 'under custody.'

A Jdoon threw the Doctor a salute. "One prisoner not apprehended. One prisoner barricaded. Explosives will be used to extract prisoner."

"That'll be Lynch I expect." the Doctor muttered. "No explosives, thanks, Captain, we don't want to extract him in little icky bits. I'll just go in and-"

Jenny stepped forward. "Father. Let me." The Doctor met his daughter's eyes. "We want him alive if you can manage it." Jenny nodded. "Alive if possible."

The Doctor shrugged, and made a gesture towards the building.

Lynch must have planned for all alternatives. He'd set up a scent trap that the Jdoon couldn't stand to be near. Stupid of him really. If you stopped them apprehending you then they just killed you.

She pushed open the office door, her spear at the ready. "Anderson Lynch, under the Shadow Proclamation you're under arrest."

Lynch laughed, a high, weird sound. "It's a little hard to arrest someone when you can't get near them. My dear. One more step, and you'll die."

"Fine by me." Jenny said, "Because then I can say I had to kill you in self defense, and that suits me. You met my dad. You know, the man you tried to kill? He tries to do things the nice way. Avoid casualties. Me, not so much. So, either you put your little toy down, or I put a hole right through you."

For a moment, Lynch locked eyes with her. Jenny stared back. Then she dropped her mental shields, and let Lynch feel what she felt towards him. The man's face blanched. The gun clattered from his hands.

"Good choice." Jenny stepped forward. Then, just for good measure, she kneed him in the crotch. The handcuffs were easier to put on once he was bent double.

…..

They stayed for the funerals. The Doctor didn't want to. But Jenny refused to leave. She felt that it was only right she be there. To apologize, maybe.

That night, people sat quietly, talking together.

"So, Councilor Chan." The Doctor said, "Planet's yours now, free and clear. Well, yours and the ekeen's."

Dory Chan nodded. "No more interference. Now we can focus on the important issues. Rebuilding, the sick children, and all."

"Sick children." The Doctor mused, "Sick children…sick children…ah! Of course. Rum ol' memory. I looked in on those kids. They've got boron deficiency. This planet must be too low in the mineral for humans. You'll have to amend your growing soil with boron from now on, and add some to the kids' diets, and they'll be right as ninepence soon. You've got some tellurium you can mine, so you'll have plenty of cash for that. And for a lot more, I'll bet."

Chan stared at him. "How do you…" The Doctor shrugged, a knowing smile on his thin face. "Doctor, you know. By name and inclination and all that. Just give it a try." He stood. "And now I think it's about time we were going."

As they wandered through the knots of people, Candice caught the Doctor's attention.

"So you two are off, then?"

"Oh, 'bout time wouldn't you say?" the Doctor smiled. "By the way, didn't get to say this earlier, but you've grown up. You're an amazing person, Candice Kane."

Candice blushed. "You're the one who got rid of them."

"But you're the one who fought against insurmountable odds. Amazing."

Candice looked away, then back at the Doctor. Her smile was refuel. "Maybe you can stop back some time. See us when we're not being attacked."

"Sometime." The Doctor promised. Then he swept Candice into a hug. "Take care of things, Candice."

Then the Doctor and his daughter were striding away.


End file.
